The Trouble with Matthew

Jesus doesn’t tiptoe around messy people. He walks straight into Levi’s workplace, looks a tax collector with a gangster-level reputation in the eyes, and says two words that change everything: “Follow me.” What happens next is more than a conversion story. It’s a picture of repentance as a real turn, leaving one road and stepping onto Christ’s road, even when your past is loud and your community thinks you’re beyond hope. 

We unpack why tax collectors in Luke 5 are despised and feared, how Rome’s tax system rewards extortion, and why a Jewish collector is viewed as both traitor and thief. Then we sit at Levi’s table as he throws a massive feast packed with tax collectors and sinners, not to celebrate himself but to introduce everyone he knows to Jesus. When the Pharisees and scribes grumble about the guest list, Jesus answers with a line that cuts through moral posturing: the sick need a physician. He isn’t excusing sin, He’s treating it, and His call to repentance is both truthful and loving. 

Along the way, we explore Levi’s two names, the legacy attached to “Levi,” the possible purpose behind “Matthew,” and the hope that Christ sees not only who we’ve been but who we can become. The big takeaways are simple and demanding: no unbeliever is beyond the reach of redemption, and no believer is exempt from the responsibility of fishing for others. If you’ve ever wondered whether grace can reach someone “too far gone,” or whether you’re qualified to speak up about your faith, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review with the line that challenged you most.

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Transcript

Why Tax Collectors Were Hated

Jesus Calls Levi From His Booth

Leaving Everything To Follow Jesus

A Feast Full Of Sinners

Pharisees Object To The Guest List

The Great Physician Answer

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Jesus is calling sinners to repentance. That's the theme of his message. He's not intimidated by this crowd. He's not going to soften the edges. He's going to speak. You know what? He's been essentially invited to a convention of criminals. And he's saying to them, essentially, look, you're on the wrong path too. Like Matthew, you're on the wrong road. I need you to turn around and get on my road. That's repentance. Stop going in that direction. Follow me. In the days of Christ, there was one profession, in particular, one occupation that was especially despised. Anybody who had the job was automatically hated because of the career they'd chosen. They were considered perpetually unclean. They were viewed as beyond the grace of God. They weren't allowed to testify in court because their word was entirely untrustworthy. In a word, they were trouble. Religious leaders during the days of Christ would have had them all imprisoned if they could. But Jesus is about to call one of them to be his disciple. This disciple will go by two names. His Jewish name is Levi, his business name, his Greek name is Matthew. More on that later. But his occupation was that of a tax collector, and that was the trouble with Matthew. That was the trouble with Matthew. He worked for the Roman Internal Revenue Service. And you would have had trouble with them too. If you go back to the Gospel by Luke, which we are expounding our way through, we're now in chapter 5, and a very brief encounter greets us now at verse 27, which is where we left off. So if you have your Bibles turned there, we're given a little context with the words after this. It lets us know this is after the Lord has healed the paralyzed man we studied in our last session together. Now notice, after this, he, Jesus, went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. Now, before we get into the conversation, let me fill you in a little more on his occupation, which I think will set the stage well for what Jesus does. During the days of the Lord, there were several kinds of civil taxes that you paid. You had your cart tax, your income tax, your poll tax, your field tax, your cartwheel tax, your boat tax, your highway tax. And all of it was paid to the beloved tax collector. The Roman government would decide and determine the value of a region based on income levels, and then assign a certain tax figure to be collected from that region and sell the right to collect those taxes to the highest bidder. We know from history that typically men involved in organized crime won the bid. In fact, people didn't bid against them, and they often hired enforcers to make sure taxes were paid. The rabbis during the days of Jesus actually referred to tax collectors with the word that we translate gangster. But as long as Rome got their taxes, the tax collectors in every region could add their own amounts on top of it all and keep it. Now, tax collectors from Jewish regions like this one here in this region of Capernaum were considered doubly wicked. They not only extorted more than was due to line their own pockets, but they were traitors. They were representing Rome to be able to turn around and steal from their own Jewish kin. The rabbis were teaching during the days of Jesus that if a tax collector set foot in someone's house, that everyone in that house and that entire house was immediately unclean. A Jewish tax collector like Levi or Matthew would have been known throughout Capernaum as a traitor and uncaring extortionist, somebody who had forsaken not only their people, but the living God of the nation, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is exactly the kind of guy you would not want to have as one of your disciples. This is not the right way to kick off your public ministry. Now that is the backdrop. Here comes this rather shocking invitation, verse 27. Again, after this, he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. He said to him, Follow me. I'll love this. Jesus goes to his office. He didn't take a wrong turn. He goes to the office of Matthew. I imagine the doorway is flanked by two really big men wearing dark suits and sunglasses, you know, flanking the doorway. It's kind of a Brooklyn Jewish accent. If you're from Brooklyn, no offense. Tough guys. None of this slows down the Lord. He knows who Matthew is. He knows this is the crime syndicate. He walks right in, essentially. Perhaps Matthew's sitting here at his desk, and he looks at him and says, Follow me. There's a command here. Let's go. You could paraphrase it literally, in a sense, uh, to say, Matthew, walk my road. You're on the wrong road, get off it. Follow my road. That isn't shocking enough. Verse 28 tells us, and leaving everything behind, he rose and followed him. I don't know what the guy in the suits did. The guy's, you know, what the he grabs his coat, locks the door, tells them probably to go get another job, he's done. And never looks back. The verb here in verse 28, he left everything, literally means, you're ready, he left everything. Everything. You could render it, he forsook it all. In other words, he said farewell to everything he had known, everything he had been, and he follows Jesus. Now, don't go so fast. You miss the glory of this conversion. Think about it for a moment. Wait a second. You know as well as I do if you're old enough in the faith, he's only going to choose twelve. I mean, twelve, that's it. This is one of the twelve. This is your representative in the community. Matthew hadn't told the truth in decades. He's a leading member of a crime syndicate. In fact, one author wrote that Matthew would have been like the godfather of Capernaum. This is one of your twelve. Doesn't he know the trouble with Matthew? Matthew is trouble. He's associated with trouble. He's lived a life of trouble. You're calling a gangster to be one of your representatives. I think Jesus would have probably responded to the comments I've just made with something like, Yeah, I know, I know, I know who Matthew is, but I know who Matthew can become if he will follow. Just like you and me. Jesus knows who you are. Jesus knows who you've been. Jesus knows what you can become if you follow. And Matthew does. Now, Matthew's life is so uh turned around that what he does is what he knows to do best. He throws a big party and he invites his friends. Only this time it's it's a little different in its reasoning. Look at verse 29. And Levi made him a great feast in his house. That lets you know, you know, the kind of bill he could handle with the caterers. That lets you know a little bit about how big his house was. He's throwing a big reception. And notice, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others. I love the and others. Matthew's gospel, when he recounts it, and Mark's gospel both translate this, and there was a large company of tax collectors and sinners. We won't go down the list. We'll just call them, you know, just a bunch of sinners. He's gathered all these sinners in his home, gangsters, members of the syndicate, criminals, extortionists. I mean, if you'd been invited to this party, you'd have left your wallet at home and your jewelry and everything else. What a crowd you've got here. You see, see what Matthew's doing? He is bringing everybody he knows to Jesus because he wants to introduce everybody he knows to Jesus. And this is everybody he knows. This is his world. By the way, the main attraction here is not Matthew, it's Jesus. Go back to that key phrase. And Levi made him. You ought to circle that. He made for him. He gave for him this great reception. So this isn't a retirement party. Matthew's not doing this to say, hey guys, I'm no longer with you, I'm out of here. No, he's throwing this to say, I want you to know who's just become my best friend. You got to meet this guy. I love this scene. Jesus is calling sinners to repentance. That's the theme of his message, which I think is really, really amazing. He's not intimidated by this crowd. He's not going to soften the edges. He's not going to pull any punches. With truth and love, he's going to speak. You know what? He's been essentially invited to a convention of criminals. And he's saying to them, essentially, look, you're on the wrong path too. There's Matthew. He's exhibit A. He's probably over there just grinning from here to here. He hadn't stopped smiling. Like Matthew, you're on the wrong road. I need you to turn around and get on my road. That's repentance. Stop going in that direction. Follow me. Follow my road from now on. Now, this huge party has not gone unnoticed. Here come the clergy. Verse 30. The Pharisees and the scribes. Remember, scribes are their attorneys at Hebrew law. That's who they were. You got the religious leaders and their attorneys. Here they come. And they grumbled at his disciples. I think it's interesting they didn't grumble at Jesus. They're cowards, but they're going to grumble to his disciples, saying this, why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? In other words, why would you be caught dead in a crowd like this? So here's Jesus eating with the Godfather of Capernaum and the rest of his mob. Doesn't Jesus know the trouble with Matthew? Doesn't he know the trouble this is going to cause by hanging around Matthew's friends? Oh, by the way, don't worry about this. He's they're going to drop Matthew eventually. They're only going to go to a party like this maybe once or twice. And maybe you've experienced the same thing. You didn't want to lose your friends, you wanted to reach them, but they they got rid of you. A little bit too much, Jesus. You're too fanatical. We don't know how long they hung around Matthew, but he was going to get them into his house at least once. And I love the way Jesus overhears these, you know, religious leaders grumbling. He delivers a rather brilliant response. Look at verse 31. And Jesus answered them, those who are well, who have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I love this analogy. Jesus is essentially saying, Listen, I'm a doctor. Who goes to see a doctor? You don't go to see a doctor. I don't go to see a doctor until when? You're about dead. And then you need help. So who do doctors spend their time around? Sick people. If you're feeling great, you're going to put off that annual. You know, it's not in the Bible anyway. So you're not going unless you start to feel a little strange. So who does a doctor hang around? Sick people. And the Lord is essentially saying here, like, I know, I know about Matthew. Matthew's terminal. Matthew needed a heart transplant. I'm the only doctor who could do it. I'm calling all of them in here to repentance. See, the problem with you men, religious men, is you know, you think you're righteous, they know they're sinners. People who think they're righteous aren't going to repent. They're not going to be saved. People who know they're sinners are right and ready. See, in this context, Jesus uses the word righteous with a little sarcastic irony. Righteous basically means right with God. So he's saying here, people who think they are right with God because they're just better than other people, people who think they're right with God because of that, really don't want anything to do with God, and they're not going to be interested in repenting and following God. They're just going to look good. But on the other hand, and I just think Jesus, as he says, you know, verse 31, I think he's just waving his hand around the room. Notice, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, they're the ones that need it. They're aware that they're broken and hopeless and sinful. They're the ones that came to this reception. So Jesus tells these religious leaders, you don't realize it, but but you just happen to walk into the waiting room of the divine physician. There are a lot of sick people. And some of them know they need a savior. Now, let me let me pull from this scene a couple of timeless lessons or truths. First of all, let me put it this way: no unbeliever is ever beyond the reach of redemption. No unbeliever is ever beyond the reach of redemption. If anybody was beyond the reach, it was this calloused tax collector. The conversion of Matthew is gonna set tongues wagging. You won't believe who's following Jesus. Now, if you thought Jesus was a little off, guess who he just called to be one of his disciples? Look who's hanging around whom. This wicked man who turned traitor on his own people and been to the synagogue and who knows how long, he's converted to this rabbi. Reminded me a little of a story I read about. Had a lady come up to me after the first service who had met this man with his little girl. His name is Jimmy Voss, a former Army sound engineer who joined the mafia in Los Angeles, working for the police as an undercover agent, wiretapping the homes of syndicate leaders like Mickey Cohen and others, and informing. But then he flipped, kind of turned double agent. He began working for the mob, informing them of the movements of the police, so the mob could stay one step ahead. One night, Jimmy Voss was invited to a tent crusade in Los Angeles and a relatively unknown evangelist at that point in time by the name of Billy Graham. And there in 1949, after hearing Billy Graham preach the gospel, he gave his life to Jesus Christ and left the mob. And it was headlines. You can read them. Matthew is that kind of disciple. He has all the wrong connections, the wrong reputation, the wrong past. In fact, I've reserved for this moment any comment on his names. I've called him Matthew for the most part, because that's been his choice. But his name appears here in Luke's Gospel and also in Mark's Gospel, chapter 2, and verse 14, as Levi. Now it wasn't uncommon in the Lord's day for people to have two names. You'll encounter them often as you read the Gospel. Matthew was his Greek name. I think that was what we could call his street name. It's likely he adopted it to keep from being identified with his past, his heritage, the tribe of Levi. I think there's more. It would be customary in that day, even as it is to this day. He was given the name Levi by his father Alphaeus. He would be given that name in honor of Jacob's third son, a faithful son. A man who, if you go all the way back to Exodus chapter 32, Moses is up on the mountain getting the law and all the people day long, and they're bowing down before a golden calf, except for Levi and his sons. They stood true. And that would begin this foundation that we would know as this tribe, this priestly tribe. They were faithful to the Lord. So this tax collector has a legacy built into his name, but somewhere along the line, he became a prodigal. He's chasing anything that's gold. He will betray his family, his legacy, his name, his nation. The name Levi will be a constant reminder of the birthright he'd sold in order to work for Rome to turn around and steal from his own people. I don't want that name. One author wrote to be a tax collector for Rome with a name like Levi was a walking contradiction. Daily he would have heard the insults of his people hurled at him. You are a disgrace to your name. You're a hypocrite. And he knew they were right. But somewhere lived a mother and a father. His hearts were grieving. Somewhere in Levi's past, he had forsaken them. Maybe it's been a long time since he'd spoken to them. He'd walked away from them and his nation and their God. But then along comes Jesus. Jesus has been watching him. He knows all about him. He knew. He knew Matthew was tired of this deception. He was unfulfilled by his greed. He was guilt ridden by his sin. And then Jesus comes and says, Follow me. Get off that road. Get on my road. Jesus did not save him in passing. Jesus saved him on purpose. Just like he saved you and me. Matthew will become a faithful disciple. By the way, he wrote the gospel that begins of the New Testament, right? The Gospel of Matthew. It's interesting to me that Matthew never refers to himself as Levi, though. It's almost as if, as I thought about it, and I could be wrong, but you pay me to use my imagination, so my imagination would say that he kept his street name as a testimony. You know, I never really was like Levi. I I didn't have that kind of life. But I was as Gentile as a Gentile. I belonged to the Roman Empire. I sold out to them, and I want people to continue to remember my street name. This is how Jesus, this is when Jesus saved me. This is my testimony. No unbeliever is ever beyond the reach of redemption. Let me give you another, secondly and finally. No believer is ever exempt from the responsibility of fishing. Matthew hadn't been saved, you know, more than a few days. He's he's fishing. He's planning his first evangelistic outreach dinner. Can't run out the synagogue, I'll bring him here. He invites them all to his home. He didn't get rid of his friends. Again, they'll probably get rid of him, but for now, he's not getting rid of them. He's reaching out to them. And I would think, you know, you know, maybe it'd be a good idea, Matthew, if you'd wait a little while, you know, get a little more grounded. You know, take a Bible class. You know, get a little more theology. I mean, who knows what Matthew's gonna say. Wouldn't it be great if the Lord sanded some of those rough edges off this, you know, this this this Godfather first? Do you really want him, you know, introducing Jesus? Shouldn't somebody slow Matthew down? No, the Bible says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. You can say so. Just tell people the road you were on, now you're on this road. You were doing this, and Jesus came. Now you're doing that. You're not perfect. You you depend on his grace every day, but let me tell you, I was heading this way. Now I'm heading this way. Matthew never got over his conversion. You see the same kind of excitement out of children, haven't you? I love it. They're so courageous, they just have the basics down and they're already talking about it. I remember when my twin sons were in second grade attending a public school in Raleigh, one of them had to write a paper for his second grade teacher. And I don't know what the project was, but he alerted me to the fact that he'd turned it around and at the very bottom, he'd given a little paragraph on the gospel. And he ended it by saying, if you want to get saved, call my dad. I mean, that put me on notice. Imagine being a teacher getting a paper from a second grader who says, Hey, you need to get saved, and I got just the person to talk to you. And that, in a sense, it's Matthew. You know, that's what he's doing here. He didn't know everything, but he had the basics down. But what he did know is what they needed because he had been one of them. They're chasing the golden calf. And he's gonna try to chase a few of them down and introduce them to the great physician who had healed his soul and had forgiven his sin.